


Storm Check

by slotumn



Series: New Style Romance [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, claude is an awkward mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slotumn/pseuds/slotumn
Summary: "I'm fine, just craving the sweet embrace of death.""Why?""Date's ruined."A.K.A. Claude overplans a date, only for the weather to ruin it before it even begins...or is it?
Relationships: Lysithea von Ordelia/Claude von Riegan
Series: New Style Romance [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639222
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme, Slotumn Portfolio





	Storm Check

**Author's Note:**

> Done for the [kink meme](https://3houseskinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1608.html?style=site&thread=2353480). Doubling as a birthday fic for Claude, I guess. And also part of New Style Romance series but this can work as standalone perfectly well.

Claude stared in utter disbelief at the alert on his phone screen.

Severe thunderstorm warning for Greater Derdriu Area starting at noon, avoid outdoor activities, it said.

"Shit. Damn. Shit damn fuck." 

After muttering a few additional eloquent words, he fell back into the sheets and unlocked the phone to the weather app, just to make sure. 

Yep-- cloud, rain, and lightning all the way through the afternoon. It went without saying at that point, but the news page showed a headline saying the annual Leicester Renaissance Festival was postponed as well. 

Also known as, the same festival that he had meticulously planned today's date with Lysithea around-- for an entire month. 

And it would have been perfect: first they would start off by getting some peach sorbets from one of the authentic period snack stands, since that was something both of them liked. Then, they would go to an exhibit that showed off a bunch of old magic tomes, alongside live demonstrations. They usually took volunteers from the audience, and so he'd get Lysithea to go up there and try some, since magic was closely related to numbers and mathematics she was so good at. He would tell her something like, "I bet you would have been one of those genius mages if you were born a couple centuries ago," et cetera cetera, make her feel nice and happy, as she always did after receiving compliments. 

Afterwards would be his chance to show off, at the archery exhibit. He was going to shoot a couple arrows first, then say that he used to take archery classes as a kid when she was impressed and surprised, and naturally turn that into a conversation about other interesting stuff they did when they were younger (as in, before they met each other in high school), because that wasn't something either of them shared about themselves yet. 

Next came the peak fun-- there was a troupe that brought live pegasi and wyverns, so they would line up as soon as it opened, and nab a ride-- together. They all had safeguards to ensure no accidents happened, but if Lysithea was still scared, then well, that would make a good excuse for him to hold her close during the event. A bit of heart-pounding excitement was effective at making people fall in love, according to science. 

Once that was done, it should be close to dinnertime, so they'd go grab dinner at one of the delicious local restaurants that always participated in the festival. The place had a rustic, tavern-like aesthetic to it, and he had already reserved a nice spot there two weeks ago, right after visiting to ensure the dish he picked out (pheasant roast with berry sauce) was actually as good as the online reviews claimed. (It was delicious, and he was certain that Lysithea would have loved it, alongside the puddings they served as dessert.)

As they walked out of the restaurant, he would tell her there was something on her head, and take the opportunity to run his fingers through her hair while getting their faces close-- then reveal two tickets in his hands afterwards, which was actually up his sleeve the entire time. 

The tickets were to a play in the outdoor theater-- Wherever the Wind May Take Us, the famous romantic play by S. Lotumn. They read it together in a group back in AP Literature, and both of them agreed that although the writer sounded like a massive dolt, the real historical figures and events the play was based off of was quite interesting. (Rejecting the marriage proposal of someone you very much loved and nuked entire battlefields for because of a short lifespan? Abandoning a hard-won throne and going on a quest to save the love of your life? Disappearing across the sea together never to be seen again? It really couldn't get more dramatic than that. No wonder the playwright was obsessed with the couple.)

Finally, the last activity of the evening would be a nice slow gondola ride down the canal. He was going to use one of those motor-propelled smart gondolas, where he could set its pathway from an app, so it would just be the two of them in the boat when they got to a nice quiet place, hidden away from all the other festival-goers. Perfect place to have a nice chat about the play-- and depending on which direction she took the conversation, he could connect it to either how the real-life historical figure the play was written about was one of his role models, or recount various events that happened back in high school (classes, quiz bowl club, whatever).

When the fireworks began, they'd look up in the night sky, mesmerized by the bright patterns. And slowly, they would lean closer, and--

"Ohhhhh-- gods dammit!!!"

His frustrated punch fluffed up the comforter, which he momentarily hoped would somehow swallow him and send him back in time to rectify the stupid mistake of not considering the fucking weather while planning for a mostly outdoor date.

"..."

Moments later, he blinked at sat up again to look at the time.

Eight thirty.

 _Alright, focus_ , he thought. _The date was supposed to start at eleven, I still have time to--_

_RING RING RING._

"Leave it at the door, please!" he called out, frantically typing something into the search bar.

**_❀Lys❀_ **  
_It's me, Claude_  
_Open the door_

Claude fell off the bed.

\---

"Well, hey, what, uh, brings you here this fine morning?" 

"I figured I should come here before it began pouring down," Lysithea replied, setting down a grocery bag. "Goes without saying that we won't be going to the festival."

"Yeah..."

Claude stared off, suddenly realizing that he hadn't cleaned the apartment to make it look nice and sleek as he wanted to, for when he finally brought her over. 

Which he planned to do when they were at least four or so months into the relationship, not two, because he didn't want to freak her out by giving the impression he was trying to progress things too fast. 

Which might have been totally contradictory with the fact he currently wasn't wearing pants, and generally looked like a mess.

"Claude? Are you okay?" 

His mouth ran before his brain, which was currently doing a 404 Thought Not Found upon all his plans going to shit. "I'm fine, just craving the sweet embrace of death."

"Why?"

"Date's ruined."

"..."

Lysithea suddenly stepped closer to him, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed into a downward curve, then said, "Claude. Your girlfriend comes to visit you first thing in the morning, and the first thing you talk about is that date not happening?"

A single thought known as, _oh shit she's pissed,_ returned to his head.

"Wha-- no, no, it's not like that," he waved his hands in front of him, "I just-- look, this is first time being in a serious relationship for both of us, so I planned to make every date count towards like-- making a meaningful progress between the two of us and all that--"

Dammit, how was he supposed to explain he made a whole timeline for their projected relationship development, and considered the dates (proper dates, not just hanging out) they had to be like landmarks on them, and so (over)planned them with great care down to the minute, without coming across as insanely weird?

The answer was that he couldn't. He was a blind, inexperienced idiot in-- far many more areas than he feigned with his usual persona, but especially romance. 

"And what 'important progress,'" Lysithea put her hands on her hips and stared up at him, "would today's hypothetical date have made?"

"...I was going to kiss you," he muttered, hiding his face behind his hands, because he didn't know what expression to make. "Sort of, uh, planned the whole thing around that."

Gods, that sounded pathetic to say out loud. 

He removed his hands a few seconds later, unsure what to expect, and then--

"Mmph?!"

\--felt hands on his shoulders and something soft on his lips. 

When they parted, Lysithea was wearing a blush as pink as her eyes.

"...There," she went back down from her tiptoes. "Now you got that kiss, without all the ridiculous overplanning of yours."

 _Say something clever and smooth_ , he thought.

"Yeah," he replied. "I did."

 _Great job, now she knows you're a blubbering idiot,_ he thought. 

_To be fair, I am_ , he thought again.

Several silent seconds later, the (perceived) tension finally broke when Lysithea hugged him with a snort.

"Goodness, Claude," she giggled, "if I knew you were this easy to fluster, I would have started doing it a long time ago."

"Better late than never," he sighed, then paused. "...So you aren't pissed, right."

"Of course not! After all, today's too special of a day to be mad at you."

He blinked.

"Come on, what day is it?" she asked, poking his chest.

"Friday."

Which was cool, he supposed, but still.

She paused and squinted at him. "...Don't tell me you actually forgot what the date was originally supposed to be for."

He pondered that for a moment and came up blank.

"What day of the year is it, Claude."

"Blue Sea twenty-f--" his eyes went wide, "--holy shit, it's my birthday?!"

"Yes, you lovable smart idiot," she laughed, then kissed him again. "But we can still have a date, right here at your apartment."

"And what kind of date is it going to be?" he asked, feeling the grin go up to his eyes.

Lysithea lifted the grocery bag and showed him the contents. "The birthday cake baking kind, and whatever else it turns out to be."

"Perfect for a stormy day indoors," he chuckled, and kissed her on the cheek.

"We're going to get started right away, so do go put on some pants," she commanded with a slight blush, already getting the aprons out. "And don't bother with that hair gel, I know that takes a long time."

"Yes, ma'am~"

As he ran back into the bedroom, the cloud-gathering sky outside the window sudddnly didn't seem as bad. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Join the Lysiclaude Discord!](https://discord.gg/GZmtGbw)  
> (Adults only for ease of moderation, please note.)  
> [My twitter](https://twitter.com/slotumn?s=09)  
> 


End file.
